Attachment for knives.



E. P; SALTZMAN.

ATTACHMENT FOR KNIVES.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 24, 1911.

Patented Dec. 1911.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

E. A. SALTZMAN.

ATTACHMENT FOB KNIVES.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 24, 1911.

Patented Dec. 26, 1911.

2 SHEETSSHBET 2.

Snow/tom ELMER SALTZMAN, 0F NOBLE, IOWA.-

a'r racnmnn'r r012. KNIVES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented ec. 26, 1911.

Application filed August 24, 1911. Serial No. 645,767.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ELMER A. SALTZMAN, citizen of the United States, residing at Noble, in the county of Washington and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Attachments for Knives, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to attachmentsfor knives, whereby. the thickness of the slice may be accurately gaged, and it is the ob ect of the invention to provide an improved de-' vice of this kind which can be readily attached to any ordinary knife, and'which is also adjustable relative to the knife blade according to the thickness of the slice desired, and which will automatically release the slice at the end of the-cut.'

The invention also has forlits object to" provide a gage attachment embodying certain novel features of construct-ion to be hereinafter described and claimed.

In the-accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is-an edge view of one form of the invention; Fig. 2' is an elevation thereof; Fig. 3 is a cross-section on the line 3-3' of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is an elevation, partly broken away, showing a modification; Fig. 5 is an edge view thereof; Fig. 6 is a cross-section on the line 66 of Fig. 5; Fig. 7 is an edge view, and Fig. 8 anelevation, showing another modification; Fig. 9is a cross-section on the line 99 of Fig. 7.

Referring specifically to the drawings,

'and more particularly to Figs. 1 to 3, 15 denotes the blade of an ordinary table or other knife to which the attachment is applied.

' Along one side of the knife blade, in spaced relation therewith, extends a gageblade 16. The attaching means for the gage blade comprises the following parts; The knife blade is straddled by a U-shaped clamp, the

two jaws of which are indicated at 17 and 18, respectively. This clamp may be a piece of sheet metal which is bent at the middle to form the two jaws. The jaws are stiffened or reinforced atom of their ends by a steel strip 19 around which the ends of the sheet are bent, as indicated at 20, to hold said strip in place. To the bend 20 of the jaw 17 is soldered or otherwise secured a small tube 21, which is screw-threaded on the inside and into which screws a set-screw22, the

point of which passes through apertures in said jaw, and the reinforcing strip,'and is adapted; to be screwed against one side of the knlfeblade, whereby the clamp is secured to said blade. The gage blade 16 is pivoted near one of its ends on the tube 21,

and the latter is also screw-threaded externally, so that by rotating the blade, it

may be placed closer to or farther from the knife blade, and thus adjusted according to the thickness of the slice desired. The bend 20 which. carries the tube 21 has a tongue 23 which supports one end of a .pin 24, around. which is coiled a spring 25, madefast atone of its ends to said pin, and having its 'otherend bent outwardly from the coil and formed into a loop 26. The other end of the pm is supported by the inwardly bent lateral flange or bend 27 on' the end of thejaw 17, opposite the end which is provided with the reinforcing strip 19. The corresponding end of the jaw 18 also has a lateral flange or bend 28. These two flanges 27 and 28 abut against the handle 30 of the knife when the attachment is in position. On the flange 27 is a stop-shoulder 29 which is engaged by the outwardly bent portion of the springto limit its upward swing. Into the spring loop 26 extends the reduced rear end of the gage blade 16. This loop serves to swing the gage blade on its pivot in such a direction that the lower edge of said blade lies normally below the plane ofthe cutting edge ofthe knife blade, as clearly shown in Fig. 2, and the'width of theloop is such that the herein-describedadjustment of the gage blade with respect to the knife blade may be made. It will be understood, of course, that the loop must be slipped oif the gage bladeto release the latter before it can be adjusted. The stop shoulder 29 limits the downward swing of the forward portion of the gage-blade. I

Figs. 1 and 2 show the attachment applied to the knife, and ready for use. In use, the gage blade is placed against the end of the loaf of bread or other article to be sliced,

and the knife blade is then operated in the ordinary manner. The lower edge of. the. gage blade lies normally below the plane of the cutting edge of the knife blade, and when said edge of the gage blade reaches the cutting board, the gage blade swingsupwardly, and the knife blade continues the out until it reaches the cutting board. When the gage blade swings upwardly the threads.

on the tube 21 cause said blade to back away used asaparing' gage.

In the'device illustrated in Figs. 4 to 6, a

:slightly from the knife blade in order o lie 'leasethe slice, and. when the knife. is re moved for the next cut, the gage blade swings back to its normal position. The dis- .tance between the gage and knife blades determines thethickness of the slice, and thismay be varied by adjusting the gage blade.

1 It will therefore be evident that the bread or other .article can becut intoslices of uniformthickness. The device may also be ,se't-s'crew 31 is threaded.;through that por- .tion of the, strip 19 which engagesthe jaw 17' and said-set-screw islocked by'a jam nut '32. The gage blade 16 is carried by this set? screw. 'To the jaw17-. is pivoted a frame 33 havinga slot '33 into which the reduced rear end woff the gage blade extends; I To the frame is connected a spring 34 whichtends to swing saidframe in a position to 1 place the gage blade so that its lower edge'is' normally below the cutting edge of the knife 1 -blade-15. The set screw 31 alsouserves to hold the attachment in position on the knife blade in the same manner as the 'set screw 22. In Figs. 7 to 9 two spring jaws 35 are shown'which are slipped over the knife blade l5,and-held thereon by lip 36 on one ofthe jaws, which is snapped 'over the free end of v the other jaw-. One of 'the jaws carries a screw stud 37 on which the gage-blade is mounted so. as'to swing thereon and also travel toward and from the knife blade. A

pring 38 connected to the rear end of the vsition.

gage blade, holds said blade inoperative po- I claim":

1. A gage attachment for knives c'olnpris-. I

externally threaded tube carried bysaid membena gage blade mounted onthe tube,

resilient means for swinging the age blade in one direction, and a set screw threaded through thetube-and adapted to engagethe knife blade; I..

- -3. 'A'gage attachment for knives compris- :ing a pair of jaws between which the knife blade is placed, 'an internally and externally threaded tube extending from one'of the' j a'w's, a set screw threaded through said tube and'adap'ted to engage the knife blade, a

gage blade mounted on the tube, and resilient'means for swinging the gage blade in one direction.

In testiinony. whereof I aflix my signature Q in presence of two witnesses.

' ELMER A. SALTZMAN. Witnesses:

Son. LEHRER, I H. G. BATGEELOR, 

